Third English Civil War

The Third English Civil War (1649-1651) was the third and last of the three wars collectively known as the English Civil War. King Charles II of England, supported by the Presbyterian Scottish Covenanters, launched an invasion of England in 1650 with the goal of reclaiming the crown for the House of Stuart. However, his army was defeated at the Battle of Dunbar in 1650 and again at the Battle of Worcester exactly a year later, and he was forced to flee into exile in France.

History
Oliver Cromwell put down Catholic resistance in Ireland in no uncertain terms, perpetrating notorious massacres at Drogheda and Wexford. In his absnece, in 1650, the late King Charles I's son, Charles II, led the Scots Royalists in another invasion of England. Cromwell returned, headed north, and laid siege to Edinburgh. Although forced by a shortage of supplies to withdraw to Dunbar, he defeated the pursuing Royalists there on 3 September. He delivered the final blow in England at Worcester a year later.

Cromwell's victory led to the creation of a kingless Commonwealth. Hopes that it would prove a utopia were quickly dashed. The rule of the Lord Protector turned out to be as despotic as Charles I's had been. His death - and the Restoration of royal power with the accession of Charles II in 1660 - came as a relief to most.